Flotation sleeves

ABSTRACT

AN INFLATABLE FLOTATION SLEEVE ADAPTED TO BE WORN ON THE UPPER ARM OF THE USER. IT INCLUDES AT LEAST ONE CONTINUOUS GENERALLY TUBULAR CLOSED STRUCTURE FORMED IN A FLUID IMPERVIOUS FLEXIBLE RESILIENT MATERIAL AND FLUID VALVE MEANS PROVIDING ACCESS TO THE STRUCTURE FOR INFLATION THEREOF. THE STRUCTURE IS ADAPTED TO SURROUND THE USER&#39;&#39;S UPPER ARM AND INCLUDES A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION ADAPTED TO BE LOCATED ON THE ARM ADJACENT THE BODY, THIS PORTION BEING SHAPED SO AS TO SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCE ANY BODILY ENCUMBRANCE THEREBY.

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data May 24. 1971 Australia ..4963/71 [52] U.S. Cl. 9/344 [51] Int. Cl. B63c 9/12 [58] Field of Search....... 9/344, 340, 339, 338, 336, 9/337, 342, 329; D7l/1 FF, 1 HH [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 685,158 10/1901 Maccolini 9/344 1,611,427 12/1926 Evans 9/344 2,111,358 3/1938 Crockett 9/344 3,18 1,184- 5/19 5 Potts 91 10 United States Patent 1 [111 3,820,179

Maertin June 28, 1974 '[54] F ATI SLEEVES 3,296,636 1/1967 Markwitz 9/340- 2 4 73 B 9 344 [76] Inventor: Klaus Paul Maem", Nor 10 biog 2i 7ii 66 D71/1 HH Weeroona Ave., Elanora Heights, a Primary Examiner-Trygve M. Blix [22] Filed: May 19, 1972 Assistant ExaminerPaul E. Sauberer Attorney, Agent, or FirmEric H. Waters 5 7] ABSTRACT 4 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures l g la 3 IS r l2 V 4 PATENTEUJUN28 1914 $320,179

SHEET 1 {1F 3 fATENTEnJuuze 1974 SHEET 2 [1F 3 FLOTATION SLEEVES This invention relates to improvements in flotation sleeves and more particularly to a short inflatable flotation sleeve of the type which can be worn on the upper arm of the user to provide buoyancy when swimming.

Present known flotation sleeves of the type to which this invention is related are generally defective in that to provide the required amount of buoyancy it is necessary to envelop a major portion of the users upper arm with the flotation sleeve which is inflated with a suitable fluid. These types of flotation sleeves generally cause bodily encumbrance which results in the user experiencing considerable discomfort in the region of the armpit and adjacent body portions.

Present known types of flotation sleeves also suffer from the lack of sufficient buoyancy in the region of the inner arm and thus failto assist the user in keeping his or her head sufficiently clear of the water.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a flotation sleeve that substantially eliminates these defects.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a flotation sleeve that substantially reduces bodily encumbrance.

In one general form the invention is an inflatable flotation sleeve adapted to be worn on the upper arm of the user and comprising at least one continuous generally tubular closed structure formed in fluid impervious flexible resilient material, fluid valve means providing access to the structure for inflation thereof, said structure being adapted to surround the users upper arm and including a substantial portion adapted to be lo cated on the arm adjacent the body, said portion being shaped so as to substantially reduce any body encumbrance thereby.

Notwithstanding any other forms, that may fall within its scope, seven particular forms of the invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. I is a rear illustration of a typical flotation sleeve located on each upper arm of a user and showing one method of reducing bodily encumbrance;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the illustration of FIG. I showing the general configuration of the sleeve in use;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of one form of the sleeve showing the manner in which the material is shaped prior to completion;

FIG. 4 is a similar view to that of FIG. 3 but illustrating an alternative method of forming the sleeve;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a sleeve showing the form it achieves when inflated;

FIG. 6 is a cross section of an alternative form of the sleeve illustrating another method of reducing the bodily encumbrance.

FIG. 7 is an elevation of yet another form of the sleeve showing a fourth method of achieving the desired result;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the sleeve of FIG. 7 illustrating the desired efiect of the form of the invention illustrated in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a fragmental cross section of a single structure;

FIG. 10 is an elevation of the structure of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of one form of sleeve illustrating a series of friction gripping members.

FIG. 12 is an illustration of yet another form of the sleeve located on the upper am of a user; and

FIG. 13 is an illustration of the sleeve of FIG. 12 before completion showing the methodof forming the structure.

Referring first to FIG. 1 the sleeve 12 comprises two continuous tubular structures l3, 14, the interiors of which are sealed ofl from the atmosphere. The structures 13, 14 are provided with fluid valves 15 enabling them to be inflated with a suitable fluid when located on the users upper arm to provide buoyancy to assist the user to stay afloat when swimming.

With present known types of flotation sleeves the surface adjacent the armpit will cause bodily encumbrance and substantial discomfort to the user when the arm is in the lowered position.

From FIG. I it will be seen that by providing the sleeve 12 with a shape that will cause a substantial portion 16 of the sleeve to veer away from the body, the user will be able to lower his arms without experiencing any substantial discomfort in the region of the armpit thus enabling the sleeve 12 to be located, in the desired position, as high on the upper arm as possible.

From FIG. 2 it will be seen that if the sleeve 12 is located too low on the upper arm of the user will experience difficulty in performing the motions required for swimming because the lower structure 13 would cause an encumbrance in the region of the elbow. The provision of the shaped portion 16 will allow the sleeve 12 to be located as high as possible on the upper arm, a sleeve of the maximum possible length be used without causing any undue discomfort or restricting the movement of the users forearm.

In the manufacture of these sleeves several methods may be utilized to achieve the desired object in reducing the bodily emcumbrance. The first of these methods is illustrated in FIG. 3. In this form, a sleeve 12 is formed from two substantial lengths of generallyrectangular material, 17, 18 preferably an extremely resilient and flexible thermoplastic material. The lengths I7, 18 of material have a sinuous shape, one of the lengths 17 having a greater degree of sinuousity than the other. The pieces of the material are superimposed one above the other and are heat sealed along their longitudinal edges l8, 19 to form a tube-like structure.

In some cases it may be desirable for the sleeve to have two such structures l3, 14 connected at one end to each other. This is achieved by cutting the material to a suitable width and heat sealing them together in the manner previously described and additionally heat sealing them together approximately mid-way through their width so that the joint 19 has a sinuous shape corresponding to the shape of the longitudinal edges l8, 19. A suitable fluid valve 15 may then be inserted into each structure 13, I4 and the material is then joined end to end and heat sealed to provide one or two continuous closed tube-like elements adapted to be inflated with a suitable fluid injected through the valve 15.

The inflation may be achieved by any means suitably at hand to the user, the most common method however would be by injecting air by oral means. When inflated the structure of FIG. 3 will assume the shape of the sleeve 12 of FIG. 1.

Referring next to FIG. 4 which shows an alternative method of achieving the desired result in which only ing the tourniqueteffect; E Y

V Referring next to FIG. 6,' a secondmethodof achievkx ing thedesired object maybe to. .provide'the material with a section: thatis thickerthan the; remainder such,

one longitudinal edge 18 of the material issinuously V 'c urved When in its completed condition, this form will provide asubstantial; portion 1 6i of'the structure hawi ing a reduced dimensionwhichsubstantiallyeliminates' I bodily encumbrance in'the regionof the usersarrnpit when it is inflated on the arm. 1 g

" There are several imethods of formingaistructurel I or '14. of this nature, most. of whichiwill causeiit. to as sume a circular shape which,whenthesleeve islofcatedj: on the users armand inflated, will actin; asimilar mane? ner to a tourniquet and restrict the users arrn to's'uch an extent thatthe blood supply will be prevented from; reaching the lower arm and hand; a conditionzwhich is i totallyundesirable and can. even be highly-dangerous y 7 3,820,179QY n Y adjacent the arrnwr that when the sleeve 12 is in. its completed; inflated condition, the thickeriportion 2,0 of the: structurehas. a) 5 greater-.resistanceto inflation thanthe remainderll slightly more expensive to manufacture: i

.and thus assumes a shape that is substantiallyajsmaller in dimensions than the remainderef-the.structure.;This method however; will result inanend product :thatds FIG. 13 it will be seen that the structure is formed from two pieces of material. as. previously: described except. that the. material is cutto ferma parallelogramfso that Referring "next to FlG.-7, 'theflfourth"methodof achieving a reduced dimension to eliminate bodily encumbrance is to provide a panel 22, in a portion of the structure l3, 14, that is not inflated. From FIG. 8, it will be seen that this panel will cause a substantial portion of the structure l3, 14 to assume a concave shape in tion adapted to. conform generally to the shape of the user's body in the region of the armpit.

Referring now to FIG. 9, with a sleeve 12 having only a single structure 14 the desired shape may be achieved in any one of the aforementioned methods but one particular method may be to provide a section'20' that has less flexibility than the remainder of the structure 14. This may be achieved in one of two ways, the first being to attach a panel to the peripheral surface of the structure 14 which will substantially increase its rigidity or alternatively, having approximately one third of theperipheral surface formed in a thicker material so that the inner surface 23 of the portion will have a greater rate of expansion than the outer surface 20'. 7

Referring next to FIG. 10, in the case of a sleeve 12 having only one structure 14', the structure may be considerably greater in length than it would be possible to make each structure 13 or 14 of the form illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 thus providing an equal amount of buoyancy for a single structure and a double structure. A double structure, however, has the advantage in that the person learning to swim may, as he gains more confidence,remove oneof the'structures to. provide a les- 5 serdegree of buoyancy. 'lhis,fitwillbeseem will enable the person'learning-to swim to move from a'stage of I using a substantial-amount Qf'bilOYflflGYiifli steps to a 7 stage where no: buoyancy is required at alliwhereaswith a single structure of the type previouslymentioned there only remains one method ofredueing the amount I of buoyancyother than completely removing; the structure, this. method bein'g to reduce the amount-of ai'rin V the structure. 1

Referring now to FIG. 1 has ,beeniknown in the past that a person wearing present known types of flotation sleevesiwhen jumping; into the waterhas experb' enced the loss; of the sleeves due toithe lack ofia suit able means for retaining tihern iin'the desired position- Thismaybe achieved by having on the inner snrfaeezs of the sleeve 12a suitablemeans24; such asa series of spaced. ridges; which will grip the skin lightly making it more difficult for the sleeve to corneofi accidentally during use. These ridges may have a rough surface Y to assist their gripping action;

. Referring to: FlGSrlZxand, 1-3;;inanother:form,.the. 3 invention comprisesit'wostructures13, whichareof 7 g a relatively uniform size butsformed soithat-the portion g than the portion 26.:

, The valveslS comprise a tubular stem27ltheouter end of whichiis closed 'offwith a plug: 28. The endzof thevalveattachedt-o theit ube atlapormembrane 2 9 whichwill', whea theast ruetureiskinflated, closeofi: 7

the valve .15: and prevent the'ai'r from escaping. From it will take theshape shown in FIG. 12.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention as hereinbefore described will enable a child, or even an adult, to learn to swim with a substantial degree of safety and comfort with the use of the present invention.

What I claim is: V r

1. An inflatable flotation sleeve adapted. to be worn on the upper arm of the user and comprising atleast one continuous generally tubular closed structure formed from two elongated lengths of fluid impervious flexible resilient material joined and sealed to each other along their longitudinal edges to form a hollow tube, the open ends of said tube being coaxially joined and sealed to each other, one longitudinal edge of said length of material having a sinuous shape defining a displaced portion adapted to be located on the user's arm adjacent the body to substantially, reduce any bodily encumbrance to the user, and fluid valve means on said structure to permit inflation and deflation of said structure.

2. An inflatable flotation sleeve as claimed in claim' 1 wherein said lengths of material are joined and sealed to each other along a line mid-way between and parallel to at least one longitudinal edgeto define two tubular structures each being provided with said fluid valve means to provide for individual inflation. and deflation.

3. A flotation sleeve as claimed in claim 2 wherein said two structures are separable.

4. An inflatable flotation sleeve as claimed in claim.

ing constriction of the users arm.

I. l l i '8 ll bellocated lowenon the arm 

